By Ihechinyere Chigemeri-Uwom
Umuahia, Dec. 12, 2025
The Abia Government has announced that the State Secondary School Unity Games medals that will be presented to boxing champions will be named after the late Olympian boxer, Obisie Nwankpa.
The Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Mr. Nwaobilor Ananaba disclosed this on Friday, at the Umuahia Township Stadium, during a state burial organised by the State Government for the late legendary Abia-born boxer.
The Commissioner, represented by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Sports, Mr. Raymond Ukwa, said that the decision to honour the deceased was informed by his commitment to excellence and achievements.
He said that through the initiative, his name would live in Abia schools’ sports development system and in the dreams of young people who believe in excellence.
He prayed God to grant the family of the deceased the fortitude to bear the loss, noting that Nwankpa belonged to the generation that defined sports in Nigeria.
“Today we gather as a state united in gratitude and a solemn reflection to honour the life and legacy of one of Abia’s most illustrious sons, late Obisie Nwankpa, who was fondly called the Golden Gloves.
“Obisie belonged to the generation that defined sports in Nigeria and they defined it through discipline, sacrifice and uncommon patriotism.
“And all through his sporting and boxing career, he represented Nigeria and Abia State at the heights of sports excellence. .
“He didn’t just represent the state, he represented the hopes of the people and of course the resilience of the country.
“He invested his time and resources and personal influence into the lives of young people, you know, young athletes and opening doors and creating opportunities that would not have been accessed on their own.
“So today, we bid him farewell and on behalf of the government and people of Abia State, I say today with clarity and gratitude, Abia State remembers Obisie Nwankpa.”
In his remark, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Chief Cyril Nwaigwe said that the death of Nwankpa had created a vacuum difficult to fill in the field of sports and in his family.
Nwaigwe urged the family of the deceased not cry as people without hope.
Also, the State Director of Sports, Mr. Obioma George, noted that the late Obisie Nwankpa chose boxing as a profession and excelled in it.
George said that late Nwankpa won 23 of his 29 fights as a boxer, 16 of which were through knockouts.
He said: “Our brother lying down here today started boxing from the amateur level and he made it to the professional level.
“Obisie Nwankpa got a gold medal in All African Games as far back as 1973 in Lagos.
“He also got a gold medal in Commonwealth Games and was a light, welterweight boxer.
He was in the Munich Olympics of 1972.
“Obisie Nwankpa had so many boxing titles and fought 29 fights and out of the 29 fights, he won 23 and out of the 23 fights he had, 16 were knockouts.
“So he was a warrior, a fighter and a talented boxer,” George said.
In his homily titled “Divine Responsibility” , a clergyman, Mr. Stanley Adindu, noted that everyone is assigned a role and time to fulfill it.
Adindu said that it was pertinent for one to identify and accomplish one’s assignment within the allotted time frame.
In an interview with newsmen, the first daughter of the deceased, Mrs. Victoria Ngozi, described her late father as kind, generous, loving, and accommodating.
“He was one man that doesn’t like cheating, he doesn’t want anybody to be cheated, and he takes everybody as his own.
“Whenever you see daddy fighting, you see him getting angry because he feels like somebody is being cheated. So, my daddy was a kind man,” Mrs. Ngozi said.
Also, the wife of the deceased, Mrs. Franca Obisie-Nwankpa, described her late husband as very caring to her and their children.
“He doesn’t sleep until his children sleep and at midnight, he wakes up to check on his children.
“And whenever he gets angry with his children, he doesn’t hesitate to correct them in love,” Obisie-Nwankpa said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nwankpa who died at the age of 75, was buried in his Okpulukwu, Umuosu-Nsulu country home, in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area.
The event attracted the presence of government officials, members of the Nigerian Olympians Association, among others.
